Morning journal and courier., 1887-02-12
EGYPTIAN LUXUIeIES.
Coffee - The NarghiIeh AIexandr1an
 

Coffee The Nar.hileh - AIexandrian Cafe.
 From the Philadelphia Press.1
 Inquiry into the method of preparing the delicious coffee of Egypt-cofee served in
 minute cups, even smaller than the after dinner coffee cups of France and of the same straight sided shape-brought to light the
 following facts: First the coffee should be
 pure Mocha from the little island so near out
 in the Mediterranean, and by the way it is impossible to get the real article since it is
 all engaged years ahead. Then the coffee is
 ground as fine as flour. Next small
 amount of the coffee and the necessary
 amount of sugar are put into a brass or cop
 per vesse, shaped exactly like baby's ordi-
 nary tin rattle with the cover taken off one of the feet ends
 The cup thus formed and containing the mixture of coffee and sugar is filled nearly full of water, and is held by the handle over the fire until the coffee boils; then it is with drawn and allowed to cool moment and is | then held over the fire and the coffee allowed | to come to 6 boil again; once more it is cooled and after the coffee comes to a boil | the third time it is ready and poured into 1 the little cups. The brass coffee boiler gene | rally holds enough for two cups, though | larger ones are sometimes used some hold ing four cupfuls. The liquid is thick and 1 brownish black, with light colored froth on the top, and 1t is delicious. After the coffee is drunk, at the bottom of the cup re- | main about three teaspoonfuls of sediment 1 that is like thick mud and is the coffee de-
 posit. This coffee and glass of water and | an amber mouthpiece on the end of the ten feet long flexible stem of the narghileh are | the sights above the tables in all directions | md nd nd 1 the glass vessels half filled with water, to | which the snaky stem may be traced.
 l It is decidedly lazy mans smoke as the | tobacco is very mild and half an hour is re- | quired to get half a smoke, and how long 8 | pipe will last no one knows. An hour and | a half is as long as 1 have smoked on one, | and then it was pufhng away better than | ever. It may take an inveterate smoker to | enjoy one of these water pipes but when the | inveterate does get one he obtains real treat
 after he has gotten the hang of it, and does
 not tire himself out drawing too hard
 Smoking narghileh differs from other kinds | of smoking in that the smoke all goes | through the water below, and is thus puri l fled, and also in the method, because il l place of short puffs is substituted deer | breath and the smoke is taken into the lungs It is not possible to smoke the narghileh 1 as pipe is smoked, so that those fearing to l inhale tobacco should never attack this water |
 seems very good name and appropriate too, l as it expresses the noise made by the several
 bubbles as they rise to the surface of tht
 water from the bottom of the vertical pipe | that leads up to the tobacco. The natives
 take their coffee and 3 strong pull at tht
 pipe, which is q regular piece of furniture,
 as soon as they get up in the morning, and
 seem to keep it all day too. They claim also
 that the narghileh is good for colds, and they 1 deserve credit for having found agreeable
 thing that is good for any ailment, and they
 will replace fried onions around the neck of | the unfortunate soul with cold.
 The cafe is as great an institution with the | people of the Orient as it is with the French,
 and the warm climate makes the shaded out l door tables the popular ones, and they are | crowded all day, whether along the Moham- | med Ali Square and in the crowded business | places or in the back alleyways where the visitors sit or reoline on cane -bottomed
 lounges and meditatively draw long draughts
 of peace. Where all these men get living
 is mystery, as thousands of them seem to
 do nothing all day but drink coffee and
 smoke. The shopkeeper.in his little l0xlO
 store smokes lis narghileh while waiting fo1 | 2 customer. The thing is as necessary to all l Egyptian as his hat and possibly more so;
 and the comfortable expression on the face
 of one of those smoking is good to see.